Okay, so activities of late, coupled with this article that I stumbled across this morning made it clear to me that it is time for the next installment in my ongoing Urban Wildlife series. (For those of you unfamiliar, feel free to catch up on Part I, Part II & Part III.)

Before I go any further, let me just point out that if any or all of us turn up missing you will know that we have probably been eaten by rabid raccoons.

Now, as you may recall from our previous episodes, we had virtually wrapped our entire house in hardware cloth in an attempt to eliminate any additional animals from cagefighting to the death underneath our bedroom floor. And for good measure, while we were at it, we also used the remaining materials to reinforce the hedge that forms a barrier between our house and the neighbor’s house. This was done in an attempt to either reduce or (hopefully) eliminate traffic on the expressway that had formed between us and our neighbor. The response to this particular action was a bit mixed. Some animals simply opted to go around to the front of the house, while others used rooftops to move from one property to another. For whatever reason, our backyard has become the epicenter of all neighborhood mammal convergence. It’s like Rosie has been out stapling flyers to telephone poles inviting everyone within a 2-mile radius. Something in large font reading: B Street Extravaganza – OFF THE HOOK!

Not to be deterred, something has been repeatedly trying to dig under the wire. So we put the wire underground. More digging. So we covered it with a big piece of railroad tie. More digging. So we inserted a big stick in the ground next to the railroad tie. More digging. BRING IT ON, YOU FURRY LITTLE MENACE!!

And then, AND THEN! As if to say, “Oh yeah? Well take THIS!” it burrowed under the crawlspace cover AND BACK UNDERNEATH THE HOUSE!!! Do I need to remind you that in the last 6 months we have had to pull a dead, oversized rodent (possum) from under there?

So, not only do we have a SKUNK (Steve finally saw the culprit while retrieving a middle-of-the-night bottle) back underneath our house, and a POSSUM (also witnessed in the backyard, cornered by Rosie) but we also have THIS little creature who has managed to find it’s way into our yard for the last two nights straight:

Unlike the rest of the jaded and lethargic neighborhood cats who have taken over our yard, this one is a fresh and playful kitten who wants nothing more than to be the willing participant in all of Stella’s abuse.

What? Are youn new? NO! we are NOT keeping it. (Reminders why can be seen here, here, and here.